"(Collins) has a tremendous pedigree and will be an outstanding leader for Chicago's Big Ten Team," NU athletic director Jim Phillips said in a news release. "He is a perfect fit for this institution."

Krzyzewski told the Greensboro (N.C.) News&Record on Wednesday: "He has a great basketball mind, a competitive personality. He's a team guy. A great guy. He's a great basketball guy, too."

By announcing the hiring before Duke's Sweet 16 game against Michigan State on Friday, NU basketball will get added national exposure.

A source said he believed Collins would not come to Evanston for an introduction until Duke's season is in the books.

Collins was the fifth and final candidate that Northwestern interviewed, sources said. Phillips, Senior AD Mike Polisky and Deputy AD Chris Reynolds met with him Monday evening in Atlanta, headquarters of the Parker Executive Search Firm.

By then, Phillips had heard from numerous alums who believed Collins could do for NU basketball what Pat Fitzgerald has done for NU football -- build a consistent winner, sell the program and help with the donors who will be asked to contribute to facility upgrades.

Collins never has been a head coach, and some wonder whether a rookie will get chewed up in the Big Ten by the likes of Michigan State's Tom Izzo, Wisconsin's Bo Ryan and Michigan's John Beilein.

"You have to start somewhere," ESPN's Dick Vitale said. "Roy Williams was a 10-year assistant for Dean Smith before he got the Kansas job."

On Wednesday night, TBS will air a special episode of "Conan" filmed entirely in Cuba, making it the first American late-night show to broadcast from the island nation since the embargo went into effect in 1962. Host Conan O'Brien will follow in the footsteps of Jack Paar,...

"Star Wars Rebels" continues to offer up gifts for the fans. On Monday's first-season finale, it reintroduced the beloved character Ahsoka Tano from "The Clone Wars" animated series. Now it's recruiting a former vampire slayer.